Cultivating business sense to prepare for MBA dissertation project work: some advices

Cultivating "business sense" to prepare for MBA dissertation project work: some advices

Some MBA students, with prior education background in non-business fields, have concerns on the inadequacy of "business sense" to do their MBA dissertation projects. My advices are as follows:

1. Keep pursuing your business management knowledge gained from your MBA study, notably on marketing, human resource management, finance, innovation and operation management and strategic management (including strategic change). You should have studied these subjects in your MBA programme, preferably before you study research methods (as preparation to do dissertation projects).

2. Develop the habit to read 1-2 business-related newspapers such as the ....., etc; preferably also read Harvard Business Review. It is very useful to supplement your reading with additional e-learning by watching related YouTube videos on business news and business related briefings.

3. For more specific preparation to do your MBA dissertation projects, identify a few management themes that you are interested in and do some browsing on some academic journal articles and books about those management themes.

4. Finally, learn the agile literature review approach in my research methods workshops and start early to think about your research topic. Your lecturer and supervisor are quite prepared to give some advice and feedback on your preliminary dissertation project ideas.

All in all, if your prior education is not related to business studies, then you do need to engage in more intellectual learning in a number of MBA-related management fields early on: 

1. Make the intellectual learning as part of your life routine and start your intellectual learning routine on business management right away.

2. Reflect on your life experience, including working experience, with your management knowledge gained via your life-long intellectual learning.